Comcast Xfinity X1 Adds Amazon Prime
Comcast and Amazon have announced that Prime Video service will launch over the next week on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 platform, a higher tier of service that is now the choice of most of the company’s 22 million video subscribers.
Prime joins Netflix, YouTube, TubiTV and a host of other digital offerings alongside traditional linear networks in the X1 interface.
“We are thrilled to give X1 customers access to Amazon Prime Video just in time for the holidays,” said Matt Strauss, Executive Vice President, Xfinity Services, Comcast Cable. “By integrating hundreds of thousands of live and on demand choices from the best networks, studios and streaming services, our customers can instantly search, control and watch all of their entertainment in one place with their voice.”
As pay-TV providers fret about viewers being lured away from the traditional bundle by streaming and digital options, Comcast has long taken an aggressive position of trying to ensure that customers can seamlessly toggle between them. Other operators have since followed their lead to varying degrees.
”Streaming Prime Originals is now easier than ever for our Prime members with X1,” said Greg Hart, Vice President of Amazon Prime Video. “The launch arrives just in time for Season 2 of Emmy-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Season 3 of The Grand Tour and holiday classics like It’s A Wonderful Life, which is now available exclusively on Prime Video.”
In addition to thousands of Prime titles, customers can also access VOD offerings through Amazon or choose among 150 Prime Video Channels to add to their video service, including Showtime and Starz. That too is a new wrinkle in the traditional pay-TV environment, as historically cable operators have sought to serve as the middleman for premium channels. Amazon, though, has emerged as a powerful customer acquisition engine for a range of subscription video services.
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